CAN AUSTRALIA LEAD THE WORLD IN STORAGE? Mansi Gandhi
Australia has the potential to lead the world in developing large- and home-scale energy storage systems, says a report by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA).
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owever, without proper planning and investment in energy storage, electricity costs in Australia will continue to rise and electricity supply will become less reliable, warns the ACOLA report, titled The role of energy storage in Australia’s future energy mix. Co-funded by the Office of the Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, the report found that there is public awareness of energy storage solutions such as batteries and pumped hydro, but there is very limited knowledge of other emerging technologies such as renewable hydrogen. There are 1.8 million homes with rooftop solar power systems that could use battery packs for energy storage but there
58 INSIGHTS 2018
is reluctance from customers to install batteries at home for perceived safety reasons, according to the report. “This report clearly shows the two sides of the coin — that energy storage is an enormous opportunity for Australia but there is work to be done to build consumer confidence,” said the chair of the ACOLA expert working group, Dr Bruce Godfrey. “Australia has world-class resources of raw materials used in battery manufacturing, most notably lithium. Our raw materials, together with our world-class expertise in the development of energy storage solutions, including batteries, the design of software and hardware to optimise integration in smart energy systems, and expertise in the design and deployment of systems